Non Solus Blog

Now Available: Fairy Tales Digital Exhibit

The digital pop-up exhibit “Once Upon a Time… Fairy Tales from Around the World” is now available! Curated by former graduate assistant Taylor Henning, the exhibit highlights fairy tale books from the RBML collection while exploring variations of familiar stories from five continents. Delve into the world of folktales and fairy tales by visiting the […]

Digging the Depths of The American Songbag

by Stephen Griffith Editor’s Note: Writer and musician Stephen Griffith (http://stephengriffith.com/) is working on several projects relating to Carl Sandburg’s The American Songbag (1927). A recent visitor to the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, he is turning over everything he can find about Sandburg’s ground-breaking collection of American folk songs. However, with many of his […]

Rare Book & Manuscript Madness: Manuscript Division

MANUSCRIPTS: Saint Benedict – La Regle Saint Benoit (ELIMINATED IN ROUND 1) La regle saint Benoit or, The Rule of Saint Benedict, is a 13th century manuscript that laid out the rules of interaction between inhabitants of monasteries. This particular copy is especially important because it is almost certainly written for a female Benedictine community. […]

Rare Book & Manuscript Madness: Science Division

SCIENCE: Andreas Vesalious – De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem  De humani corporis fabrica libri septem is one of the most significant anatomy books in the history of science. The text deviated from the teachings of Galen, a Roman physician, in order to promote a more hands-on approach to learning anatomy and subsequently learning how […]

Rare Book & Manuscript Madness: Literature Division

LITERATURE: Jane Austen – Emma (ELIMINATED IN ROUND 1) Emma is the fourth novel written by Jane Austen and it took a little over a year for her to write.  The novel was ultimately printed on commission. Austen paid for the advertising and the first print run of 2,000 copies herself after declining John Murray’s […]

Rare Book & Manuscript Madness: Archival Division

ARCHIVAL: Carl Sandburg – Stereograph (ELIMINATED IN ROUND 1) Before becoming a well known poet and author, Carl Sandburg spent four years selling stereographs from door to door.  Stereographs use two almost identical photographs to create a three-dimensional image when viewed through a stereoscope. The Keystone View Company produced this stereograph of the Union Stock […]

Rare Book & Manuscript Madness!

Can’t wait for March Madness to begin? Neither could we, so we decided to make our own March Madness bracket! But instead of picking college basketball teams, we decided to pick materials in our own collections and we’ll have the fans (you!) vote to advance them to the next round. HOW RARE BOOK & MANUSCRIPT […]

Yours Truly: A Valentine’s Day Pop-Up Exhibit

This Valentine’s Day, we are celebrating love in all its forms. From decades-long marriages to the love between a poet and his dog, the love letters featured in this exhibit represent some of the most beautiful relationships in our collections. Transcriptions and English translations are available for easy reading. We would like to thank Caroline […]

Making Quills Part 1: Curing

by Katie Hartman Quills are part of the basic materials needed to create a medieval manuscript. Their use and creation were a basic part of the scribe’s daily work and the quill is usually regarded to be the symbol of the scribal trade.  Typically, medieval quills were taken from geese or swans. The best feathers for […]

Adventures in Cataloging: Arabic Manuscripts at RBML

By Hanan Jaber In the cold rooms of the stacks, I walk through the smell of centuries-old books  As I scan the shelves, I notice a stack of books untouched, with white tags protruding from the covers. Some are wrapped with cloth strings and cardboard; others barely attached to their spines. The white tags all […]